The Castillo de Colomares, near Benalmádena in Spain, feels less like a castle and more like a dream built out of history, myth and admiration. Constructed between 1987 and 1994 by Dr. Esteban Martín Martín with the help of only two builders from nearby Mijas, it stands as the largest monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus and his voyages.
Its creator described Columbus as “a great navigator, deeply learned in geography, astronomy, sacred writings, mathematics and the humanities…”, seeing him not only as an explorer, but as a deeply educated man shaped by curiosity and knowledge. Inside the monument is even the world’s smallest church, along with an empty mausoleum symbolizing that, after his final voyage, Columbus ultimately “traveled into Eternity.”
It is one of those places that feels suspended somewhere between history, devotion and imagination.
–
Spain, 2025
